Forum tests ability of minors to buy alcohol

June 6, 2003

KALAMAZOO -- Kalamazoo County business owners will soon get
a little help verifying that their clerks are not selling alcohol
to minors.

The Responsible Hospitality Forum of Kalamazoo will be doing
random compliance checks around the county this summer as a way
of encouraging business owners to review their policies and procedures
related to the sale of age-restricted products, particularly
alcohol. The program will involve sending 21-year-old students
into various establishments to see if proper identification is
required prior to purchasing alcohol.

The Responsible Hospitality Forum is a community coalition
of business representatives, law enforcement personnel, students
and higher education staff members. It is the continuation of
an initiative launched in 2001 by the Department of Alcohol and
Other Drug Abuse Prevention at Western Michigan University.

The organization aims to significantly reduce the level of
alcohol-related problems in Kalamazoo County by promoting social
change, maximizing the use of available resources, and improving
communication among students, businesses owners and other community
members. The compliance check program is being made possible
through a grant from the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage
Drinking.

Scott Suryan, interim president of the forum and owner of
the 7-Eleven food store on West Michigan Avenue, says the forum
currently is focusing its efforts on reducing the ability of
minors to obtain age-restricted products. Suryan emphasizes that
the organization's members have voluntarily chosen to conduct
compliance checks and will keep the results of individual businesses
absolutely confidential.

"The goal of this project isn't to be punitive. We're
not targeting any particular businesses or employees," he
says. "Business owners participating in the Responsible
Hospitality Forum have made a clear commitment to addressing
the distribution of age-restricted products among those not of
legal age, and the compliance checks are one way of meeting that
commitment."

According to Scott Kerby, coordinator of the Responsible Hospitality
Forum and a WMU doctoral student, each check will follow an established
procedure that has been developed through consultation with law
enforcement personnel. Checks of randomly selected businesses
will be done once a month for three months.

"After a check is completed, we'll notify business owners
by both letter and telephone," Kerby says. "Business
managers will be invited to meet with Responsible Hospitality
Forum members to process the visit and business owners will be
invited to join the Responsible Hospitality Forum."

Kerby adds that the program's overall results will be collated
after the three months and released, in the form of percentages
only, to the local media.

For more information about the compliance check program or
the Responsible Hospitality Forum, contact Scott Kerby at (269)
387-2717 or <kerbys@groupwise.wmich.edu>.